The city of Manzhouli lies in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region near the border with Russia. Described by a German daily as a “stylistically carefree pile of rubble,” its architecture certainly celebrates gold and an excess of colors. One example is a concrete matryoshka doll roughly 30 meters tall. The world’s largest matryoshka, it has a five-story restaurant in its mid-section. Surrounding it are smaller specimens with faces reflecting different nationalities. If that’s what it takes to create international understanding …

Getting there

Lufthansa flies daily from Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC) to Beijing (PEK) in June. Hainan Airlines will take you to Manzhouli (NZH). ­Matryoshka Doll Square is next to the Russian Art Museum.